Lucknow, Jan 2 (PTI) AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday tore into Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, saying he only constructed crematoriums in the state and made “arrangements” to dispatch a large number of people there, apparently referring to the second Covid wave.
Addressing his party’s rally here, the Delhi CM said coronavirus arrangements in UP earned a bad name for the state and now in a cover-up exercise, the state government is splurging public money on advertisements.
In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the AAP leader said,”In 2017, the BJP’s tallest leader had said if ‘kabristans’ (cemeteries) are made in Uttar Pradesh, then ‘samshans (crematoriums) should also come up.” “Unfortunately, Yogi Adityanath in the past five years only constructed crematoriums and made arrangements to send a large section of citizens there,” Kejriwal said.
He said Uttar Pradesh had earned a bad name throughout the world for making bad arrangements during the second Covid wave.
“If there was any state in the world that had made the worst arrangements to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, it was Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
“In order to cover its misdemeanour, the UP government had given 10-page advertisements in US magazines, splurging the hard earned money of people,” he alleged.
The AAP’s national convener said while his rivals are good at “constructing graveyards and crematoriums”, he knows “how to get schools and hospitals constructed”.
“I get it done in Delhi. Likewise, I will get it done in Uttar Pradesh,” he said, stressing that the country needs schools and hospitals.
Taking a jibe at the UP government, he said it put up 850 hoardings in the national capital while his government had only 108 hoardings erected in Delhi. “Sometimes, people wonder if they are contesting elections in Uttar Pradesh or Delhi,” he mockingly said.
A new player in the political heartland, AAP has announced it will contest all 403 seats in next year’s UP Assembly polls.
Kejriwal said he has taken a vow to fulfil Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar’s dream to provide good education to children of the country.
He accused rival parties of knowingly keeping the poor deprived and illiterate “so that they keep coming to their rallies”.
“They deliberately kept the government schools in poor condition. If we can improve the government schools in five years (in Delhi), can’t it be done in UP,” Kejriwal remarked.
Kejriwal said his government has run a scheme under which people of different faiths are being taken to pilgrimage to places like Dwarka, Haridwar, Rishikesh and Ajmer Sharif.
Recently around 2,000 devotees returned from Ayodhya as part of this scheme, he said.
Kejriwal promised to provide 300 units of electricity free, 10 lakh jobs and Rs 1,000 every month to women above 18 years of age if his party is voted to power in the state.
“You people have seen governments of all parties. The SP, BSP and the Congress have availed the opportunity for complete five years. Give us a chance, if you don’t like our government then don’t vote for the party in future,” Kejriwal said seeking people’s vote. PTI SLM SNS RDK RDK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.